A 34-year-old Superior mother accused of her baby's murder -- a woman described as "lovely and sweet and consistent" who may have suffered from postpartum depression and "snapped" -- was told Thursday that she can't leave jail because the charge against her means she's not entitled to bail.

Stephanie Rochester, wearing a pale blue suicide smock and drying her tear-stained eyes under wire-rimmed glasses, made her first appearance Thursday before a Boulder County District Court judge. The judge told Rochester she must return to court Monday to be formally charged.

Rochester was arrested Tuesday night, just hours after she and her husband, Lloyd Rochester, brought their unresponsive 6-month-old baby boy, Rylan Richard Rochester, to Avista Hospital in Louisville, where he was pronounced dead.

She was being held in the Boulder County Jail on $750,000 bond on suspicion of first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death until prosecutors filed a motion arguing that Rochester should be held without bail because first-degree murder is a capital offense.

"The bond as set is absolutely inconsistent with other people in this position," Deputy District Attorney Adrian Van Nice told District Court Judge Gwyneth Whalen. The judge agreed.

Thursday's courtroom was filled with news reporters and a few of Rochester's friends and family members, including her mother and sister. When she saw her family members, Rochester held her hand to her mouth and blew them a kiss. She then put her hand over her heart and cried.

Her husband was not in the courtroom.

After the hearing, Rochester's mother said she didn't want to comment. Her sister, with tears in her eyes, said, "This is devastating."

Rochester and her husband told police Tuesday that they found Rylan unresponsive in his crib and brought him to Avista Hospital, where attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office. Detectives are investigating the case as a homicide, even though the Coroner's Office hasn't ruled on a cause or manner of the infant's death pending further laboratory tests and investigation.

Neighbors have told the Camera that Rochester, who was a mental health counselor at Children's Hospital, had mentioned suffering from postpartum depression and sleep deprivation. She is on suicide watch at the jail, where she also is being held in segregation from other inmates.

Heather Craig, one of Rochester's friends and neighbors, said she's still trying to wrap her head around how someone so obviously in love with her child could have done what she's accused of doing, and she pointed to postpartum problems as a possible explanation.

"If she snapped and went into a psychotic episode, she probably can't relate to all of this, just like we all can't relate to the person who did this," Craig said. "It probably feels like someone else did this to her child."

Lloyd Rochester went on a business trip to Sweden the week before his son's death, Craig said, adding that she's not sure whether his absence added to his wife's stress.

"She missed him when he was gone, but I don't know that it was harder than it would have been," Craig said. "It was just bad timing."

Kimberly Rouland, who also lives near the couple, said she, too, heard that Lloyd Rochester had been out of town but never heard Stephanie Rochester complain about it.

Rouland said she, too, is convinced that -- if Rochester did what she's accused of doing -- some type of mental psychosis was involved.

"I know her, and this isn't something she would do," she said. "She is lovely and sweet and consistent. Whatever happened, we can't get our heads around it."

Rouland recalled how much Rochester cared for her child -- worrying that he was getting too much sun on his face, for example, or that he was meeting all of the normal milestones for his age.

"If they have evidence to prove that this was an intentional death, then it had to be some kind of flip of a switch, knowing her heart and her love for that baby," Rouland said.

Kym Vitar, a California-based professional photographer who took pictures of the Rochester family, wrote in an online blog in April about her experience meeting them.

"Right off the bat, when I met Stephanie and Lloyd, I felt as if they were old friends of mine," Vitar wrote. "The warmth and joy that comes from these two is contagious. Now they have a beautiful little boy, and he has inherited that joy."

Details about why authorities arrested Rochester have been sealed in a warrant for 10 days. The District Attorney's Office has filed a motion to have it unsealed, but the judge has indicated that she'll wait to rule on the motion until the defense has a chance to respond by Wednesday.

Stephanie Rochester, right, arrested on suspicion of killing her 6-month-old son, listens as her attorney, Megan Ring, talks to public defender Seth Temin during Rochester's hearing at the Boulder County Justice Center on Thursday.
(MARTY CAIVANO)

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